


Fear Itself

by BossToaster (ChaoticReactions)



Series: For the Good Times (Shiro Week 2017) [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Gen, Kuron is Shiro (Voltron)'s Clone, Post-Season/Series 03, Shiro Week 2017, Slav'ness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-20
Updated: 2017-11-20
Packaged: 2019-02-04 21:10:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,277
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12779574
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChaoticReactions/pseuds/BossToaster
Summary: After an assassination attempt, Slavdemandsasks that the paladins come to protect him.  With seven pilots, five lions, and one castle, they end up able to send along one person.  Ryou volunteers himself.  Kind of.He may not have thought this through very well.Shiro Week 2017, Day 2: Original/Divergent





	Fear Itself

**Author's Note:**

> A huge thank you to Velkynkarma for providing feedback and notes to help me get Slav’s voice down, and for being the original inspiration for the idea.

“Assassins,” Lance repeated slowly, his eyes wide.  “On Olkarion?  How did they even get there?”

Allura sighed and waved her hand.  An image of the planet appeared, hovering in place.  The twin glimmered, looking blue under the castle’s lights.  “It’s no secret that we’ve been using it as our base.  And with the number of refugees we’ve been taking in all over, it’s no surprise someone was able to sneak in.”

Frowning, Shiro flipped through screens, skimming through the information on the attacker.  Ryou leaned over, curious.  Seemed it was an Unilu, which wasn’t a huge surprise.   They were common all over, including in the coalition, and a surprisingly wide swath of their population had their four limbs in all sorts of dirty dealings.

“Why weren’t we able to detect their weapons?” Pidge asked, her brows furrowed.  “Ryner oversaw those precautions herself.  Everyone’s belongings were scanned.”

Coran pressed his lips thin.  “Yes, well, they went in through some back-channels, it seems.  They had help from the inside, no doubt, which means they have allies we have yet to sniff out.  They were stopped, but despite best efforts, they were killed instead of detained.”

“So there’s just random people wandering around Olkarion who might try to kill us next time we’re there?”  Hunk shivered.  “Comforting.”

“Well, they weren’t after us, at least,” Ryou pointed out, brows up.  “Who was the target?  Ryner?”

Allura shook her head.  “No, it seems not.  The target was- well, it was Slav.”

Oh.  Huh.

“I hate to ask,” Lance said cautiously, shoving his hands into his pockets.  “But are we sure it was planned and not, you know, heat of the moment?”

“The perpetrator had no business being near Slav’s lab, and their weapons show otherwise,” Coran said.  “So as best as we can tell, no.  And Slav was under significant guard with the Galra.  It makes sense that if they can’t keep him, they’d want to eliminate him.”

Ryou nodded agreeably.  “That was a pretty impressive building for just one prisoner,” he pointed out.  “If they’re willing to put those kinds of resources into keeping him contained, then one measly assassin isn’t the end of what they’ll do to shut him up.” 

In his chair, Shiro twitched, and Ryou didn’t need to be his clone to know he was thinking ‘I’d a lot to shut him up, too’.

“So, what are the Olkari going to do?” Keith asked.  “They’re going to add more guards to his lab, right?  The Blade of Marmora have some detection hardware they might be willing to share.”

Allura winced.  “Actually, that’s why Ryner called us.  Slav no longer feels their security meets his standards.  He’s asked for us specifically.”

There was a moment of pure silence, then pandemonium as everyone spoke at once.

“No way,” Lance said.  “We’re not getting stuck on guard duty for Slav of all people on our time off.  Count me out!”

“We can’t turn around now,” Hunk cried.  “The system alignment won’t be perfect for this plan again for hundreds of thousands of years!  This is our best chance to take out those border stations.”

Crossing his arms, Keith set his jaw.  “There’s much more important things Voltron should be doing.  We’ve been working on this plan for weeks.”

Pidge scowled and clutched her pad.  “You’re letting me blow up a sun.  I am not giving up blowing up a sun.”

“No,” Shiro rumbled out, sharper and more authoritative than normal.  “Absolutely not.  Slav will have to make other arrangements.”

Raising his hand, Ryou shrugged.  “I mean, it’s not that bad an idea.”

Immediately, everyone stopped and stared at him.

Lance rubbed over his ears, as if he thought he’d misheard. “Sorry, what now?  Come again?”

“Having us there will be an irresistible target, but we’re also the best equipped to handle it,” Ryou continued.  “I’m not saying do this now, but I am saying us being there isn’t a bad thing.”

Sitting up straighter, Keith eyed him.  “You want to spend time with Slav?  You.”

Ryou bristled despite himself.  “Hey, that’s Shiro, not me.  Maybe Slav and I get on great.”

“Uh,” Hunk muttered, not quite meeting his eyes.  “I mean, maybe.”

“You think so?” Shiro asked, turning in his seat to look Ryou over.  The arch of his brow was pure challenge.  “You really want to do this?”

Okay, Ryou might not count Slav on his favorite people list, but the open disbelief was annoying.  “Patience yields focus, Shiro,” he shot back, as condescending as he could manage.

Coran cleared his throat before Shiro could snipe back.  “Ryou does have a point.  I’m not enthused at the idea, especially with this bad timing, but having a paladin there does make for excellent bait. It might draw out the assassin’s allies, since otherwise there are few leads to follow back to them.”

“It might not be the most popular option, but making sure Olkarion is free of spies and assassins is pretty important too.” Ryou said.  “I’d like to be able to sleep at night when we stop there, personally.”

Lance rolled his eyes.  “No one is getting onto the castle.”

“No one thought they’d get past the Olkari security either,” Shiro pointed out, tone going thoughtful.  He continued to eye Ryou, more speculatively now.

Good.  He didn’t need to go around thinking Ryou agreed with him just because he was a clone.  Honestly, Ryou thought they’d put that behind them, thanks so much.

Hunk shuddered.  “When you put it like that, yeah, fair point.”  He groaned, just shy of childish.  “I guess we should help him.”

“Actually,” Shiro said, eyes brightening deviously.  “This isn’t a very combat heavy mission.  Honestly, we only need the lions and the ship.  And if Ryou thinks he can handle Slav, we can drop by Olkarion and let him stay there ahead of us.”

That-

That was not at all what Ryou had meant.

But from Shiro’s smirk, this was all just a ploy to get him to admit he wasn’t more patient than Shiro when it came to Slav.

Well, screw that.  They didn’t know until they knew.  And this was going to be a pretty boring mission in terms of what Ryou offered.  He’d volunteered to go along in the Green Lion just to get to watch a sun explode.

Because exploding suns were cool.

But he didn’t need to do that, and he’d review the footage and data with Pidge later.  Probably with popcorn.

Maybe this was stupid, but Ryou would do a lot dumber to flip Shiro’s smirk upside down.

“Fine,” he agreed, crossing his arms and straightening up.  “I’ll play bait and keep an eye on Slav.   Someone needs to, and I can be an adult about it.”

Satisfyingly, Shiro’s smile slipped right off his face.

“You sure that’s a good idea?” Lance said.  “You’re not going to have any back-up until we’re done.”

Coran’s lips pressed, not looking any happier about the plan.  “We shouldn’t be long, but two quintents is a long time to be alone.”

“Well, alone with the backing of the Olkari,” Pidge pointed out.  “They’re not going to stop protecting Slav completely, right?”

“No, though there’s been some changes requested.”  Allura’s lips thinned.  “Again, apparently.”

Shrugging, Ryou leaned his hip against the console and crossed his arms.  “I’ll live for two days, I promise.  Bring me a postcard.”

“From formerly sunny, uninhabited Sector Ionhun,” Lance drawled.  “You got it, man.”

Keith glanced a Ryou, considering.  “If it’s going to be dangerous, it doesn’t have to be you.  We have two extra pilots.  Shiro or I could go too.”

Immediately, Shiro tensed hard.  “We’ll need Allura on the castle for wormholes,” he pointed out.  Frankly, he looked relieved to have the excuse.

He would have gone if pushed.  Ryou knew that for a fact.  He’d do it because it was important and Shiro would swallow his dislike.

But in this particular case, it was true: the plan involved multiple wormholes in very quick succession, and the energy reserves just couldn’t hold that much power.

“I’ll manage,” Ryou repeated.  “Seriously, you guys go off and do all the work.  I’ll hang out and take a mini vacation.”

Hunk crinkled his nose.  “Not much of a vacation.”

“Eh, I’ve been dying to try one of those Olkari headbands anyway.  Didn’t work for Shiro, but I’m the smart one.”  He knocked his boot against Shiro’s seat.

Shiro snorted, not even bothering to look over.  “That’s my education you’re working off of.”

“And I wear it so much better.”

Besides, Ryou had a point to make.  Slav might be annoying, but Ryou could handle it.  Really, he could.  Last time had been under terrible circumstances, so neither Shiro nor Slav had been at their best.

And Ryou was a different person.  So far that hadn’t meant more patient, but it might in this case.  

Ryou could handle this.

How bad could it be?

***

Ryou was having second thoughts.

It was one thing to agree to the plan in the command room, when he got the satisfaction of surprising everyone on the team.

It was another to step down from the castle alone, a bag on his shoulder, and know he was about to be left behind for two days.

Turning around, Ryou walked backward down the ramp toward where an Olkari security detail was waiting for him.  “I’m serious about that postcard, you know.”

“We’ll get you a cool souvenir,” Lance promised, a little more vehement than the joke required.  Ryou knew he’d do it, too, and the knowledge made his chest feel warm and liquid.  

Hunk nodded.  “When we’re done with those outposts, I’m pretty sure we’ll have our pick of something cool inside.”

Eyes crinkling with the force of his smile, Ryou gave a final wave.  “I want something shiny.”

“Don’t we all,” Allura agreed fondly.  “Stay safe, Ryou.”

Saluting to her, Ryou started to turn, but there was the thump of heavy footsteps on the ramp behind him.  Ryou turned just in time to see Shiro jogging down after him.

“You don’t have to do this,” Shiro murmured, siding up next to him.  “Don’t feel like you have to.  I’m sorry I implied we were the same again.  If you don’t want to be left behind, you don’t have to be.”

Softening, Ryou smiled.  “I’m doing this because it needs to be done, not to prove you wrong.  Well, not just to prove you wrong.  That’s a side benefit.”  He poked Shiro in the middle of his chest.  “I’m okay.  Really.”

Shiro nodded slowly, still searching his face.  Then he relaxed.  “Alright.  I just wanted to be sure.”

Smiling, Ryou clapped Shiro on the shoulder.  Despite everything, it was still odd to be endeared by his own face.  Odd, but nice.  “Thanks.  I appreciate you checking in.  I’ll be fine for a couple of days.  It’s disappointing to miss a sun blow up, but Hunk’s better with Yellow than me, and that’s what counts, here.  Besides, Slav likes you.  I think.  It makes me good for the job.”

“Likes might be overstating it,” Shiro replied.  But he still leaned forward, bumping their foreheads together.  “If I come back and you got assassinated, I’m never going to let you forget it.”

“If I get assassinated, I’m haunting the castle and pranking all of you every day.”  Ryou closed his eyes and leaned into the touch.  “Now get going.  Time’s wasting, and I feel like a little kid on his first day of school.”

“Did you remember your lunch?” Shiro asked, even as he pulled back.  “Play nice with the other kids.”

“Even Slav?”

“Well, nice-ish.”  Shiro shook his head fondly, then waved and made his way back up the ramp.  It started to raise behind him, so Ryou got in one more round of waves before he had to get out of the way or else be burn up in lift-off.

As he turned around, one of the Olkari stepped forward.  He held out his hand, a strained smile on your face.  “Ryou, correct?  My name is Drynus, it’s nice to meet you.”

“Likewise,” Ryou replied.  He clasped the offered hand with only one last glance back at the disappearing dot of the castle.  It vanished from view long before they even wormholed away.  “Glad I could help you out.”

“We appreciate it,” Drynus said, a little breathless.  “Rumors about the attack have been spreading and mutating, so we’ve got our work cut out for us without- well.” 

Ryou gave a sympathetic smile.  “Without addition strain on your resources for certain demands?”

Nodding in open relief, Drynus straightened.  “Yes.  We’ll be coordinating with you as much as possible. The usual guard detail will continue as well, so there’ll always be someone around while you’re staying in the lab.  Would you like us to escort you there?”

“That’d be appreciated,” Ryou agreed.  He watched, fascinated, as Drynus turned and held up his hand.  A would-be mecha suit of plant fibers formed, with entrances for them to climb inside.  “Actually, I do have a favor to ask.  I feel like I’m going to have some time to kill while I guard.  Is there any way I could get my hands on one of those headbands to use for a day or two?”

Drynus glanced back over his shoulder as he settled into the seat.  “Certainly, that won’t be a problem.  I’ll pass on the request.”  The suit shifted underfoot, essentially standing, and lumbered off at speed.  Glancing at the screens, Ryou could see dots that had to be the other members of the guard detail flanking them.  “Anything else you think you’ll need?”

Clearly, they were desperate to be on Ryou’s good side.  Which was fair.  If he’d been dealing with Slav for weeks on end, Ryou might have been just as eager for someone to come and help take the burden, especially after such a scare.  “No, that should be plenty.  Aside from the rundown on what happened, of course.”

“The assassin smuggled their weapons past preliminary scans using special cases that fooled our scanners,” Drynus admitted, jaw tense.  He seemed to take it as a personal insult that someone had snuck past their defenses.  “After that, they had someone working with them to get around other checks that might have caught them.  We know the assassin in particular wasn’t on the planet for long, but their allies might have been.  They settled in for a week, which was long enough to learn the guard detail around Slav’s lab.  Then they snuck in and attacked him.  Slav says the assassin immediately tried to kill him, but they also seemed to be a professional.”

Ryou blinked and tilted his head.  “You think he wasn’t trying to outright kill Slav, then?”

Shrugging, Drynus sighed.  “They might have.  Slav’s quick on his feet when he wants to be, that’s for sure.  He’s hard to keep up with.  But it’s different with a trained killer.  I suspect they were trying to subdue and kidnap him, which is a lot harder to do.  When the guards started to converge on them, that’s when they outright tried to assassinate Slav.”

It wasn’t a bad thought.  Ryou - well, Shiro, technically - had also seen Slav darting around like a whip when he was avoiding the warden (or Shiro).  He’d even managed to hang onto the ceiling for a bit.  So it was hard to say.  Slav was clever, too, so he might have outsmarted his attacker.

“Can I talk to the guard who took down the assassin?” Ryou asked.

Drynus nodded again.  “Sure.  We’ve questioned her already on what she saw, but you might think of questions to jog her memory.”

“That’s the idea,” Ryou agreed.  Ahead of them, the quickly growing city sprawled on the horizon.  The streets were wide, filled with the mechas jostling and running past each other.  Darting pods shot by above them, and the layer above that was filled with ships.

When they landed in the castle, they always stayed a bit farther back, mostly because landing the castle too near a city was asking for trouble.  So Ryou hadn’t been inside the bustle like this in a while.  It was impressive, to say the least.

Looking over, Drynus chuckled.  “We’ve been growing.  That’s what the Olkari do.”

“No kidding.”  Even as Ryou watched, one of the buildings ahead of them glowed and began to grow.  Another story appeared on top, vines shifting and settling until it looked like it had always been there.

Abruptly, the mecha turned, and they barreled down a new street.  If and when Ryou figured out how to do this, he was going to have to practice somewhere else.  It’d be like taking driver’s ed on a race car track.

Soon, they approached a squat building, tucked incongruously between two much taller skyscrapers.  The curves and colors of it vaguely reminded Ryou of the Marmora outpost that Ulaz had stayed in.  Which made sense - it was probably designed by the same person.

The mecha came to a surprisingly dainty stop right outside of it, and opened for Ryou and Drynus to climb out.  

“I’ll be in charge of guard duty for the rest of the afternoon and evening,” Drynus said.  “When I switch shifts, I’ll be sure to introduce my replacement to you.”

Ryou nodded, head still swiveling like a tourist in New York City.  “That’d be great, thank you.”

Well, nothing left to do but to do it.

“Anyplace I should go inside to find him?” Ryou finally asked, trying to swallow the growing dread in his stomach.

Drynus shook his head.  “He shouldn’t be that hard to find.  It’s mostly open space in there, except for his living quarters and the bathroom.  We tried to have him have an apartment outside it, but-”

“I understand.”  Ryou threw his bag over his shoulder again.  “Thanks for the ride.”

“No problem at all.  I was going the same way.  I’ll have the headband and the guard sent your way as soon as possible.”

Ryou shot him one last grin and thanks, then took a deep breath and stepped inside.

‘Open’ wasn’t an exaggeration.  The building space was nearly completely one giant room, more like an airplane hangar than a laboratory.  In dead center there was the half-finished version of something.  It towered, huge and circular, over the benches and tables and chairs that were places around the floor.  If Ryou had looked from above and sketched out the lab, he was almost certain the desks and chairs would have made a perfect, equilateral triangle around the main project.  The furniture was all made of the same plant material as they dome, and all were sleek and without imperfections.

“Slav?” Ryou called, looking around.  “Are you here?”

A familiar head poked around the edge of the dome, wearing one of the Olkari headbands.  “Ah, you came!  Excellent.  With the paladins on guard, chances that I will survive the next attempt go up at least 27 percent.”  He started to scamper over, then paused, looking Ryou over.

Brows up, Ryou forced on a smile.  “Something wrong?”

“Yes!  Two things,” Slav agreed, his eyes narrow.  He held up two fingers on his top left hand, the rest still tucked into their front pockets.  “One, you are not the paladins of Voltron.  You are  _ a _ paladin of Voltron.”

“Sorry,” Ryou said, shrugging. “The rest will be back in a couple of days.”

Slav shook his head.  “No!  This throws off all my calculations.  I did not think you would only send one of you.  Just one paladin is ineffective.  In 54 percent of realities,  _ all _ of the paladins are sent to protect me.  Only in 4.57 percent of realities is only one paladin sent, and I die in 84 percent of those!”  He dashed around Ryou, fast as a striking snake, as if looking for where the other paladins were hiding.  “Are you certain more paladins are not coming?  One paladin is unlikely and insufficient.”

Taking a deep breath, Ryou swallowed against the rising irritation.  Slav didn’t mean it as ‘you aren’t enough’.  It just came across that way.

…Actually, he might mean it like that after all.

“Still better than your chances were an hour ago,” Ryou shot back.  

Slav paused again, considering that.  “Somewhat,” he allowed, deeply reluctant.  The fingers on his top right hand twitched, as if counting.  “Slightly.  There should still be more.  The chances of two paladins are 14 percent.  Is another one coming?  In those cases, my chances of survival increases by 37 percent, and yours is nearly 8 percent higher!”

“Duly noted. The others are busy,” Ryou repeated through his teeth.  “This is what you’ve got.  What’s problem two?”

“You are wrong.”

Ryou twitched, a full body motion.  “Pardon me?”

Casting him a look like Ryou was being slow, Slav sighed.  “Your hair is wrong.  And your armor is wrong.  You are very white.”  He squinted again, this time as if Ryou was reflecting enough light to be painful.  “Still one arm, if different.  Disappointing.  Two robot arms would have made you nearly as useful as two paladins.”

Two robot arms would also make him better at strangling Slav.  Funny universe.

“I’m not Shiro,” Ryou finally replied, tone clipped and sharp.  “That’s why I’m different.  I’m still not getting two robot arms.”

Slav stepped closer, pushing up on his tail so he was right in Ryou’s face.  Before he could even back away, he put his beak right at Ryou’s nose, glancing over him.  “An alternate universe?”  One of his paws tapped hard on Ryou’s jaw and cheeks, nearly slapping him in the process.

“Hey!”  Yanking back away, Ryou took another deep breath.  “No.”  Had anyone told Slav about the alternate version of him and Shiro?  Probably not.  It would mean voluntarily having a conversation with him.  “I’m his brother.”  Then, when Slav opened his mouth again, Ryou corrected himself.  “I’m his clone.”

“Oh!”  Slav stared at him, then zipped away as well, as if Ryou was the one shoving his face into people’s personal bubbles.  “This is the reality with the clones?  Only 3.46 percent of realities have clones! If you are Galra made there is a 98.68 percent chance you have some kind of programming to attack me!”  With that, he ducked back away behind the dome.

Dammit.  _  Dammit. _  “I did.  It was removed already.  Pidge and Hunk gave me the all clear.”

Why hadn’t Ryou just stuck with the brother thing?

Slav poked his head back out, but barely a show of one eye and an ear.  “That is what you would say if you were brainwashed to kill me.”

“I’m not!”  Ryou groaned and scrubbed his hands over his face.   “If I was going to attack you, I would have done it when you were close enough to grab.”

Eyes wide, Slav let out a yelp and darted back away.

“You know, I’m not a very good guard if you’re avoiding me!” Ryou called after him.  “Your chances of survival probably go down.”

“In approximately 21.5 percent of universes, you were specifically sent to kill me,” Slav’s voice floated back.  “Stay back there.”

Sighing, Ryou looked around.  “Can I at least sit down at one of the chairs?”

“No!”  He still didn’t reappear, but his voice jumped in volume and pitch.  “Do  _ not _ touch the chairs!”

Ryou crossed his arms and stared up at the ceiling, taking a deep breath.  He could feel his hands shaking with mixed rage and alarm, so he tucked them against his chest.

Over one in five chance.

Was that Slav’s Slav-ness, or did he know something?

No.  Ryou was clean.  They’d checked.  It had been months.  It was over.  

It had to be.

Sighing, Ryou looked around, then finally sat down next to one of the chairs, leaning against it.  Chasing Slav down wasn’t going to do anything but give him a headache and freak the guy out more.  So he’d just…

He’d just wait here.

On the floor.

For two days.

Great.

***

Drynus came a short time later, looking amused to see Ryou sitting on the ground.  “Told you not to move the chairs, right?”

Ryou gave him a flat, unhappy look, which was an answer in and of itself.

Patting him on the shoulder, Drynus handed him one of the headbands.  “Don’t be too upset if you don’t get it at first.  We teach kids for years how to use these before they get to try it for real.  It’s a different mindset than most beings tend to have, we’ve found.”

“I’ll do my best to curb my expectations,” Ryou replied.  He managed a thin smile.  “The guard coming too?”

“Not for a while,” Drynus said.  “She had other duties.  Everything going well?  Slav hasn’t called us since you came in.”

Ryou shrugged.  “He’s just been working.  You guys are doing the real guard work.  I’m just sitting here and trying not to nod off.”

Brows up, Drynus considered him.  “Well, normally he’d have called us in half a dozen times by now, so clearly you’re doing something right.”

Or Slav was staying quiet out of nerves because of the scary, brainwashed clone.  When Ryou glanced toward the dome, he caught a hint of movement at the top, like a pair of eyes had just ducked back down.

Hmph.

“Noted.  I’ll pass on any further requests.  I’m guessing you have to get back to work?” Ryou tried and failed to keep the hope out of his voice.  Having someone to actually talk to (instead of being talked at) would be nice.

Drynus shook his head.  “No, I need to get back to coordinating patrols and keeping an eye on the cameras.  I’ll be by later, though.”

Sighing, Ryou nodded.  “I appreciate it.”

With a last quick pat, Drynus slipped back out the door, presumably to head back to his post.

Finally standing, Ryou put on the headband, tugging it down so the gem was placed firmly over his forehead.  Then he closed his eyes and tried to reach out and feel the plant life that made up the building and the area.

Nothing.

“What are you doing?”

Snapping his eyes back open, Ryou whirled around.  Slav was back on the ground and had finally fully stepped out from behind the dome again.  He kept a very careful distance, and Ryou noticed he gave one particular area of the floor wide berth.

Huh.  Idly, Ryou wondered just where Slav had been attacked in the room.

“I wanted to see if I could make one of these work.”  Ryou pointed to the headband with a shrug.  “While I’m here anyway.  It’d be useful.”

Slav’s top two hands tucked back into their pockets.  “Can you?” He asked warily.

Pressing his lips thin, Ryou shook his head.  “Not yet.”

“Hm.”

This was the first time in nearly three hours that Slav had actually tried to talk to him instead of spying on him around the dome.  It was a close call, but Ryou preferred the semi-civility.  For Slav, anyway.  He was rude no matter what.   

So, hey, Ryou would bite.

“What are the chances of me getting this right before the team gets here, do you think?”

Slav startled, looking surprised to have been asked about a percentage.  His bottom hands twitched visibly in the pockets.  “I have to calculate for your condition.  What neurological issues do you have?”

Okay, maybe Ryou had been wrong.  Maybe silence was better.

“No sense of taste,” Ryou finally reported, voice steely and cold.  “Nothing else.”

“That you are aware of,” Slav pointed out, looking him up and down pointedly.

Ryou started to grind his teeth.  “Yes.  Though the team will point out if something else is wrong with me.”

Stepping closer again, just another step or two, Slav nodded.  He looked Ryou over again.  “What about your hair?  What’s wrong with it?”

Reaching up, Ryou placed a self-conscious hand over his bangs.  “Nothing!”

“The color is wrong.  All of your color is wrong.  The reflectivity of your armor increases your chances of causing blindness at an inopportune moment significantly.”

Ryou snorted.  “More likely I’ll blind an opponent than myself, so I’ll take those odds.”  That earned him a look like Ryou was being an idiot.  Probably, Slav mentioned it because he was worried for his own eyesight, not anyone else’s.  “I dyed it.  I wanted to look less like Shiro.”

“You could do that with another rob-”

_ “Enough _ with the robot arm!”

Slav scrambled back a couple of feet, tensed against Ryou’s sudden shout.  “It would make you stand out more,” he pointed out, voice smaller.  “If that’s your goal.”

Yeah, because dying his hair and wearing different colored armor was so comparable to having his arm chopped off and having another alien replacement grafted onto his bones.

Taking a deep breath, Ryou forced himself to calm down.  He was better than this.  He’d said he was going to handle this well, and he meant it.

“Why are you even talking to me?” He finally asked, voice still tight.  Ryou ran his fingers through his hair, trying to distract himself and let off some energy.  “I’m a nasty clone, right?  More than a 20 percent chance I’ll cut you down.”

Slav tilted his head, and Ryou could damn well see the cogs turning in his head.  “You’re still more dangerous.  But you’ve been alone with me for the past three hours with no attempts to disrupt my space or harm me.   This brings down your chances of being brainwashed from my initial estimates to 4.358 percent.  The chances that you’ll be a significant deterrent to another attack are higher.”

Huh.

Apparently that translated to ‘good enough to talk to, not good enough to stand close to.’

Still, it was an improvement.

“Does that mean I can sit in a chair?”

“No!”  Three of Slav’s hands shot out, all pointing at him.  “Do not touch my chairs.  The chairs are  _ perfect. _  Changing their alignment increases the chance of attack by 5.68 percent.   _ Do not touch them. _ ”

Damn.  Fine.

Ryou sighed.  “Fine.  I won’t.  I’ll just work on this.”  With that, he narrowed his eyes and stared at the wall again, trying to wrap his head around Ryner’s original explanation.  The idea that all matter was just matter made academic sense.  The difference between them was just a few atomic particles, after all.

In practice, it wasn’t nearly so easy.  Shiro couldn’t look at plants and think of them coming together in binary the way Pidge seemed to, at least not on command.  Like working with advanced logarithms at the Garrison, Ryou had to stop and completely focus on what that meant in order to be able to move forward with an intuitive understanding.

Which was harder to do when Ryou was standing around in a ferret-owl-alien’s laboratory, wearing a glowing headband and staring at a plant wall.

Sighing, Ryou turned, only to see a face barely a foot from his.  Yelping, he stepped back away, arms up and heart pounding.

“Don’t do that!” He managed, breathless.  “You startled me.  I could have hit you!”

Slav ignore his protests completely, still peering at Ryou’s face.  “You are not getting it.”

“Thanks, I figured that out.”  Ryou reached up and ripped off the headband.  He shook his head, making his bangs fluff back out where they were supposed to be.

“Are you being distracted by reflections from your wrong hair?  I told you there the chances you would reflect too much light had gone up significantly.”

Ryou cast his eyes up on the viney ceiling, gripping the headband hard enough he was in danger of breaking it.  “No.  That’s not why.”

Stepping closer again, Slav looked at the headband.  “There is a .843 percent chance that the headband may not be functioning.  They are mass produced and occasionally have defects.  Do you know if it’s working?”

“So there’s only a 99 percent chance I’m not good at this?  Thanks for the vote of confidence.”  Ryou sighed and held the headband out. “You try.”

But Slav darted away like Ryou had tried to hit him with it.  “What are you doing?” He demanded.

Ryou blinked.  “Letting you test the headband?  You can do it, right?  All this stuff is plants, I assumed you made it.”

“Of course I did,” Slav shot back with perfect confidence.  “Put it down.  Slowly.”

What was he on about?

Ryou bent down to put the headband on the floor, then held up his hands.  “Is the problem the headband or the handing?”

“The handing!”  Slav gave a full body wriggle, his tail lashing behind him and his fur completely on end.

Why?  Slav had no problems accepting whatever was handed to him when he worked on the Teleduv.  Well, that wasn’t true.  He had rules about it, like he did about everything.  He only accepted things on his right side, not the left, claiming a significantly increased chance of dropping anything and causing damage.  Anything brought to him had to in multiples, the factorial depending on the kind of materials.  He’d once refused to use a desk because Hunk had put eleven pens down on it.

But Ryou hadn’t broken any of those rules.  One object was fine to hand, and it hadn’t been over Slav’s left shoulder.  So what was the problem?

But from the way he curled away, Slav was actually scared of the move.  His eyes darted from the headband to Ryou and back, as if he’d attack him at any moment.

Wait.  Attack.

Oh.  Yeah, Ryou definitely needed to speak to that guard.

Once it was done, Slav stepped forward and picked the new headband up.  He swapped it out for the one he was already wearing, and then he glanced back at his dome.

It shifted, rotating 180 degrees on its organic platform, so Ryou could see the layers upon layers of growing mechanics inside.

“Seems like it works,” Ryou commented.  He held out his hand to take it back, automatic and thoughtless.

Slav shot him a glare, then pointedly put it down and stepped away again.  He watched warily until Ryou picked it up off the floor, now holding it loosely in his hand.  “In 86 percent of realities, your chances of mastering the skill go up from unlikely to somewhat possible if you have instruction.”

Considering him, Ryou put the headband back on.  “Was that an offer or an observation?”

“An offer.”

On one hand, that made him Slav’s captive audience.  On the other, Ryou was already captive, and he really wanted to learn to make vine robots.

So he nodded.  “Alright, I’d appreciate that.”

“Put this on first.”  A round cap grew out of the vines under foot.  Ryou shot Slav a flat look, then obligingly put it on. It perfectly covered the dyed portions of his hair, leaving the white bangs sticking out.

Likely, the problem wasn’t really the blinding.  That was just the justification for disliking the change.

Well, tough shit.  Ryou didn’t dye his hair for Slav’s approval.

He still wore the helmet without complaint, and suffered being climbed on and having Slav wrap around his shoulders.

Honestly, it was kind of nice.  If Slav was getting anywhere near him, he must figure Ryou was relatively safe.  

If Ryou could prove to Slav that he was good, he could convince anyone.

***

Training progressed slowly, but there was actual progress.  Getting things to change properties was still proving to take more concentration that Ryou could give without staring into the middle distance for an hour or two.  But making things that already existed move was a much easier starting task.

Ryou formed a thin but tall column of vines from the floor, beaming at his accomplishment.  When he pushed back with his hand, it obligingly shoved back a couple of inches.  “Yes!”

“Progress,” Slav acknowledged, sounding satisfied.  The coils of his body tightened around Ryou’s shoulders.  He tried not to think about a boa constrictor. 

It was faint praise, maybe, but the glow didn’t leave Ryou’s chest.  “Thanks for your help.”  Maybe he was starting to lose it from sheer proximity, but Slav was making more and more sense the longer they worked together like this.  “Why are you helping, anyway?”

“If you are able to control the environment, your ability to protect me goes up by 27.821 percent,” Slav said, delicately resting his top hands on Ryou’s shoulder.  He still steadfastly refused to touch Ryou’s hair, even with the cap between them.  “And it was a more interesting challenge than my project.  I know I’ll be able to complete that.  I am only able to help you understand these concepts to competency in 75.43 percent of realities, due to your neurological factors.  I am not yet sure which reality this is.”

Ryou snorted.  “Great, thanks.  Well, I’m not going to be able to protect you with just a little stick growing out of the ground, so let’s try and take this another step up.”  He held up his hand, eyes narrowed.  The column started to bend and shift, slowly curving to the side.

Then it suddenly snapped over, far too fast and strong.  It crashed into the desk and chair, sending them both toppling.

Whoops.

“Here, I can fix tha-”

“What did you  _ do?”  _ Slav sprang off of Ryou’s shoulder, the weight of him making Ryou stumble back several feet.  The desk and chair rightened themselves before he physically made his way over, but then he used off of his hands to reposition them.  Glancing over at the nearest desk and chair on the same side, Slav muttered to himself, incomprehensible to Ryou’s ears.  Every now and then, he shot a frantic, furious look over his shoulder as he worked to straighten the furniture back into their spots.

Maybe Ryou had been wrong.  Maybe the lack of chairs had nothing to do with Ryou as a person, and more to do with Slav’s calculations.

Stepping forward, Ryou swallowed hard.  He wasn’t sure what about this bothered Slav, but it was clear he was distressed.  Even more than usual.  His hands shook slightly, and all his fur stood completely on end.

Slav might be annoying, and his needs might be strange and hard to follow for anyone outside his head.  But he’d just suffered an upsetting attack.  Of course he was flustered.

Swallowing against the buildup of guilt in his throat, Ryou stepped forward. “Can I help?”

Without looking back, Slav shook his head.  “No.  Don’t touch anything.”

“Okay.”

With that, Slav darted up his dome, climbing it as easily as he climbed Ryou’s shoulders.  He stood on top, using all of his hands to draw imaginary lines from the desk on the other side of the dome to the one Ryou had disturbed.  Then he tensed and darted down, making a few more adjustments, before repeating the gesture.

Over and over and over.

Ryou’s slip had caused Slav at least fifteen minutes of distress and work.

A thought struck, and Ryou spoke before he could censor himself.  “Why three?  Wouldn’t it be easier with four desks?  You’d be able to see at least two others that way.”

Immediately, Slav tensed again.  “No.  Four is unlucky.  Even more than red.  There will not be four of anything in my lab.”  He still didn’t look at Ryou.

At first, Ryou opened his mouth to ask why.  Then he froze.

The Unilu attacker would have had four arms, wouldn’t they?

That was probably why.  Ryou would have been willing to be Slav had four desks when he’d set the lab up, and he’d gotten rid of one after.

“Slav, can I ask you something?  You don’t have to answer if it’ll make you uncomfortable.”

Holding up one hand in Ryou’s direction, Slav shushed him.  “I’m concentrating.”

Ryou winced and nodded, gripping his headband hard.  “Sorry.”

His only reply was more shushing.

It took several more back-and-forth trips before Slav was finally satisfied.  He let out a long sigh, rubbing his top two hands over the sides of his face.  “What was your question?” He asked, more than slightly out of breath.

Slav often looked frazzled or worried, but this was different.  He looked wrung out, now.

Maybe Slav’s attitude was completely on him.  He didn’t have to be rude, and he didn’t have to act like everyone around him was stupid for not following the same rules.  But the actions Slav took weren’t all his fault.  He couldn’t help it.  It was just how his brain was wired, it seemed.

Ryou, of all people, could understand that.  And Slav’s problems weren’t so easily fixed by simply replacing an arm.

“Can-”  Cutting himself off, Ryou shook his head.  When he talked to the other guard, he’d go over what happened in detail, and look over Slav’s overly full write-up of the incident with more care.  Likely, he’d be able to predict some of Slav’s more recent fears and aversions that way.  But it wasn’t worth it to make Slav recount the event when he was already so strung out.  “Would you be comfortable if I left for a little while?  Less than a varga.  I want to pick something up.”

Slav tensed visibly.  “With you gone, the chances of being killed in an attack rise significantly,” he reminded sharply.

“Better to go now then later, when there’s a higher chance of the attack happening.”

Finally, Slav looked over, meeting his eyes for the first time since the accident.  He didn’t look self-conscious, but he did look uncomfortable.  “Less than a varga?” He confirmed.

Ryou nodded.  “Barely half of one, if the store I need is close or I can get a ride.”

Again, Slav hesitated, still uncomfortable. 

“The guards kept you safe for the 14 varga it took for us to get here after your request,” Ryou pointed out.  “They can probably manage another half of one.  And I’ll patch you into my comm unit so I’ll know immediately if something is wrong.  Okay?”

Finally, Slav gave a jerky nod.  “Half a varga,” he agreed.

Ryou smiled.  “Thanks.  It’ll help, I promise.”

Looking dubious, Slav waved him off and turned back to his project.  “The sooner you go, the sooner you’ll come back with something that had better help.”

That was the plan, actually.

Kind of.

***

27 minutes after leaving, Ryou returned.

The only thing different was the dark blue hooded scarf he was wearing, which effectively covered the dyed portion of his hair.

“I figured we could use some luck,” Ryou offered, when Slav paused at the sight.

Slav’s eyes brightened.  Immediately, he darted over and climbed back onto Ryou’s shoulders.  He gripped the fabric and shoved it forward, like Ryou was a horse and the fabric was his reins.  “Good.  Now my odds are closer to tolerable.  They increase the closer you are.  Now go to the project, so you can help me reach.”

Obligingly, Ryou stepped over and let Slav plant his feet on him, reaching nearly all the way up to the top without having to climb it.  He chattered about the purpose and his thought process, most of which went right over Ryou’s head.

But Ryou didn’t need to follow along with Slav’s process to know they’d reached a kind of understanding.

They weren’t that different, after all.

As Slav dropped a tool and let it fall, nearly hitting Ryou’s foot, he swallowed a new surge of irritation.

Not that different, but at least Ryou wasn’t so  _ rude. _


End file.
